In a clothes dryer air is typically circulated across clothing contained in a rotating dryer drum. The air is heated prior to entry into the drum by means of electrically energized heating elements or by a gas burner contained in a heating assembly. Air is either drawn, or blown, through the drum by a fan that moves the air out of the drum across a lint filter and through exhaust venting out of the dryer. Typically, the rear wall of the dryer is provided with louvres comprising horizontal extending openings having fixed sloping fins that allow ambient air to enter the dryer cabinet and pass through the heater assembly. The ambient air is drawn through the louvres into the cabinet due to the negative pressure created in the dryer cabinet by the air moving out of the cabinet via the exhaust venting.
When the dryer is subjected to recent and more stringent fire testing, sparks of ignited particles of cheese cloth, representing dust or lint, rise and fall within the dryer cabinet and in some instances escape from the dryer cabinet through the louvre. Accordingly, there is a need to develop an air flow entry for a dryer that permits ambient air to flow into the dryer during normal dryer operation and restricts the flow of ignited particles and other debris escaping from the dryer cabinet so as to help contain a fire in the cabinet should one develop.